| Girls State | |
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 Release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Produced by |
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| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Amy Foote |
| Music by | T. Griffin |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Apple TV+ |
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Running time | 96 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Girls State is a 2024 Americandocumentary film, directed and produced byJesse Moss andAmanda McBaine. It follows teenage girls from Missouri navigating a week-long immersive democratic experimentGirls State, learning how to build a government from the ground up. It serves as a companion film toBoys State (2020).
It had its world premiere at the2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024, and was released byApple TV+ on April 5, 2024.
The film primarily focuses on three participants in the program:
Other participants also make prominent appearances, especially Faith Glasgow and Cecilia Barton, who determinedly run for Federalist and Nationalist Party Governor respectively, as well as Brooke Taylor, who aims to be a Girls State Supreme Court Justice alongside Nisha, and Maddie Rowan, friend of Emily and vocal member of the queer community.
A large group of teenage girls with diverse backgrounds and views from Missouri attend 2022'sGirls State, a week-long democratic experiment about building a government from the ground up. Several girls campaign for the highest office at Girls State, Governor of Missouri. The film also tackles the systemic differences between Girls State and Boys State, the latter often being socially taken more seriously as a program for meaningful political discussions.
By the end, Cecilia Barton wins the election for Governor and Tochi Ihekona successfully becomes Attorney General at Girls State. And even though she lost the election for Governor, Emily Worthmore is granted a scholarship.
In December 2023, it was announcedJesse Moss andAmanda McBaine had directed a documentary film revolving aroundGirls State, withApple TV+ producing and distributing.[2]
It had its world premiere at the2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024.[3] It was released on April 5, 2024.[4]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 95% approval rating based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A look at what American democracy would look like in the hands of teenage girls. Young female leaders from wildly different backgrounds navigate an immersive experiment to build a government from the ground up."[5]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[6]
NPR includedGirls State on its list of the best movies and TV of 2024, with criticLinda Holmes writing that the film "isn’t always easy to watch, but seeing how these girls think about leadership is fascinating."[7]
| Award | Date | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
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| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | September 7, 2024 | Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special | Nicole Stott, Jonathan Silberberg,Davis Guggenheim,Laurene Powell Jobs,Amanda McBaine &Jesse Moss | Nominated | [8] |
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program | Laura Hudock, Laela Kilbourn, Daniel Carter, Erynn Patrick Lamont, Keri Oberly, Thorsten Thielow, and Martina Radwan | Won | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program | Amanda McBaine andJesse Moss | Won | |||
| Critics' Choice Documentary Awards | November 10, 2024 | Best Political Documentary | Girls State | Nominated | [9] |
| Cinema Eye Honors | January 9, 2024 | Outstanding Broadcast Film | Amanda McBaine andJesse Moss | Nominated | [10] |
| Outstanding Broadcast Editing | Amy Foote | Won | |||
| Outstanding Broadcast Cinematography | Martina Radwan, Daniel Carter, Laela Kilbourn, Erynn Patrick Lamont, Laura Hudock, Thorsten Thielow | Nominated |
